Memory Lane
by Mirae-no-sekai
Summary: What he still remembers about her... 11 one-shots about RikuXion. Challenge by Wishing-Fire!
1. Curiosity

Curiosity killed the cat. Or made the boy meet the marionette.

Had he not been so interested in knowing more about the hooded girl, he would not have lingered for longer outside the castle. Riku was noticing every single detail: the black hair, the clear blue eyes, the child-like face, the lithe form.

And, if he was honest, he was throwing anything under inspection. The hint of porcelain joints like those of dolls. The way she curled slim fingers around the hilt of her blade – the graceful stance she would normally have when not under fake rage. The display of emotions – why did she do that, of all things?

Even after he left her lying prone on the ground, cut off her strings… he was curious about her. And he was thankful Xion didn't notice that he kept scrutinizing her from the tall windows or from a couple of steps away in the darkness.

It was the only way to sate his curiosity, after all. He needed to know more about the doll-girl. The 'why's of her quirks, the 'how's of her looks – he wanted to learn all about them.

And he was no mere feline to lose to his knowledge thirst. He'd know about Xion… maybe answer one of her questions or two.

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><p>A.N. – trying my hand at… yet another drabble challenge. What can I say… the format is addicting…. Nothing more to say, save the typical disclaimer: nothing belongs to me. The characters to Square, the challenge to Wishing-Fire. Enjoy!<p> 


	2. Friendship

It figured he'd put such a high value on friendship. He was going through with this entire infernal scheme for Sora's sake, after all…

To a degree, he knew Xion was devoted to her friends as well. But, never to the degree of ceasing to exist for them…. That had been one of the first things he had said to her: the consequences of her actions. That she'd end up killing – deleting – her best friend if she chose to remain. And she kept smiling at him when she accepted her fate.

She was like his best friends, through and through. The friends that had suffered due to his mistakes…

And he was planning to put Xion through the same fate… no, make that worse. It hurt, not only because he'd keep flickering to thoughts of mindless days on the beach and lighter days. Riku had become attached to her, dammit, and-

Not yet, she was not going to be erased yet. He wanted some more time with Xion, find a bit more about her. Commit her to his memory… so that, if all else failed, he could bring her back. He hoped.

A.N. – Thanks to MonMon Candie for spotting the mistake previously… truly a nice person, go read her fics!


	3. Pity

When their mad escape began, Riku thought it would quickly devolve into a pity fest. What with her being on the run from her best friends, and him half-escorting the doll to her end.

Needless to say, aside from the occasional nightmare or two… it was all but that. An incident came to mind, when he had actually voiced his thoughts.

He had to parry a keyblade blow to the head. Endure a bout of anger…

"But you're right." _Wait, what?_

"I'm running away. As always. From all that I've known, from the two who've cared for me… to save Sora. Your friend…" She drifts off on the thought, then smiles.

"You have to be, um… not sad… now. You'll get your friend back! And as for me… I'm not taking more pity. I'm escaping that as well… and I can't let them worry more about me." _Because they are already driving themselves up the walls searching for you… I probably would do so as well…_

She has disappeared for an instant. Reappeared with frozen treats on her hands.

"You have to try this! The icing on the cake…"

Riku got a taste for sea-salt ice cream after that. But the blue was off – sky blue rather than the sea blue of her gaze. _I'm denying I ever thought that._


	4. Lust

It was lust that got him into this whole mess. Wanderlust, hunger for power, something akin to lust for a certain redhead… an obsession to set everything right or back to normal – synonyms at this point, he guessed.

He glanced over at Xion, a couple of meters from him, uncomfortable in an actual dress.

"It is similar to your cloak, you know. And you fight in that."

"Isn't it too short? And too tight? And too-"

"Remind me – who was the one who wanted to blend in the crowds?"

"Me. I expected the crowds to dress better though!"

"They dress very well; you know… showing a bit won't kill you."

To prove her point, she saunters over to him. A grin is conspicuously absent from her face, replaced by a frown and a veil of black hair. Long legs moved towards him at a slow rhythm, drawing his attention…

A glint of metal and a flash of darkness later, Xion is disarmed and Riku is sporting a cut on his arm and a hand-shaped outline on his face.

"It might not kill me, but the attention won't make me blend in, won't it?"

_And I'll probably end up attacking someone for looking at you like tha-_

_I am __**not**__ thinking of this again._


	5. Happiness

He crashed out of the hallucination, the haunting tone of a dead man still ringing in his ears… to see her curled up on the sand, hands over her ears and eyes tightly shut.

Riku cradles her in his arms, tries to sooth her with a soft motion or whispering the nothings on her ear that Kairi and Sora told him once upon a time. He knows that what he can do is limited and that it'll recede on its own… but watching her in almost pain is harder than he thought it would be.

Eventually, her blue eyes slide open. Shockingly, the first thing he sees in them… is happiness.

"You're here." A tired smile and her slim fingers flicking off a corner of his blindfold. His arms holding her _just a bit_ closer, because he thinks she'd like the support (he sure wanted a bit of it when the illusion let him leave).

He jumps a little when he sees her without the haze of black in front of him. Earns a deep love of trees; since one stops his fall when she quickly presses a kiss to the corner of his eye with a mischievous grin.

If he wasn't sure that what he felt when she opened her eyes and drowned him in a blue gaze was happiness… than **that** settled it.

Xion doesn't figure out what was the prompt for this. But seeing him _smile_ for once is truly a treat for her.

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><p><em>A.N.<em> – guess the small 358/2 cutscene here. And many thanks to: all readers (who are awesome), Mon Mon Candie (for her reviews) and Amatus (review as well). You guys make the world spin!


	6. Despair

Being with Xion was a breath of fresh air. The light in darkness and all that jazz. It is almost good enough for him to forget that he's quite literally death's herald in a stolen black cloak to the doll with the sea-blue eyes.

_But it's live fast and die young, right? Go out in a blaze of glory?_

_Not fooling myself, am I?_

So, he lets her have a nice time. Lets himself have a nice time, dancing with the girl in a skimpy outfit, running across seashores and experiencing the greatest collection of sunsets to date.

And, for both of their sakes, he commits all to memory. Her smiles. A pout here, a frown there – to keep it true to the person. The way she walks, the way she dances… the way she slays (because Xion is as much of a warrior as he is).

_Beautiful through and through…_

_Won't it hurt when you erase her?_

_Or when she erases herself? In your name…?_

_Shut it._

He won't focus on the darkness that is over in the corners of his mind. Xion chases them away with borrowed light and sea-salt treats and keyblade strikes.

But the voice in his head is right. She is fading off bit by bit, the tinge of her skin a bit brown over here. A spike in her usually tame hair, which he strokes down and away. But he can't feel sad yet, because enough of her remains, and she is still eager for his smiles and yet another trip across who knows where.

Despair only sets in when he realizes that he can't remember the details. What they ate the most, or the color of a dress or the exact shape of her face.

Only when she begins to be deleted from his memories he begins to panic. To let the darkness creep ever so close to where she once was-

_No. She wouldn't like it._

_I'm not forgetting her again._

_Or more than she is gone now, anyways…_

_I can't fool myself, can I?_


	7. Rage

At first, he had accepted Xion's fate with no troubles and no regrets. He'd win her over (or just use a bit of elbow grease and combat skills), give her memories to Naminé and get his best friend back. Get Sora back, and begin to fix everything that went awry. Maybe, somewhere along the line… apologize to Xion. If a less-than-nobody deserved _that_ anyway…

But he'd owe Naminé one, even after her 'demise'. Or chance at a better life with Kairi. Whatever it was, one Nobody was better than all others. Maybe better than him, a person who had steeped himself in darkness…. Anyways, an issue for some other date and place.

He didn't expect _at all _how Xion would be. The radiant smiles, the blue eyes he'd seen somewhere before. At first, it had been _rage_. How would she _dare_ to take light from them, even if as a reflection? _Why_ did she possess the azure gaze from the person she threatened? She was not supposed to be…_ sympathetic_. Not ever the strong-willed puppet with an aversion to normal clothes and a penchant for ice-cream. He was not supposed to enjoy her company, to see the nuances that made her unique…

Most of all, he was not supposed to feel enraged when Naminé – the memory's empress – would say that she was past the point of aid. Out of her realm, beyond her reach… beyond anything he could do for her, the girl he-

Xion, the girl he, he…

Why did he keep raging at himself when he couldn't even bring himself to admit that he was in…

Ah, _why_ did he even _try_… it was heartbreak either way. Never mind he never said it, but she wouldn't understand it anyway. Emotions were beyond her…

_Damn that, damn it all. Helpless as always…_

He raged silently on.


	8. Lost

White corridor, white corridor... glass-like walkway... a swirl of silver and slivers of darting white...

His weapon drawn, Riku lunged into battle yet again. The lesser nobodies were of little challenge, but the small stains of scarlet he left on the floor could be used to track him. _If_ the denizens of the world even walked around. From what he had seen, _not_ using the portals was a _rarity_...

Not that he'd argue. If Castle Oblivion was large, this one was _massive_. Well, at least the size served to conceal him - by luck alone he had not met with more resistance than the spindly guardians and locked doors.

Still, it didn't change the fact that he was lost. His scouting of Xion's paths and routes had been of no aid. At least, she favored walking rather than gliding over in darkness. Maybe the long treks that she had taken with him had that effect.

Riku spun slowly around, checking the hallways for any signs or names. If he remembered well, a place called Proof of Existence would allow him to reach the floor with the dormitories. Then again, he might as well be closer to his final target than that room. And Xion might also be traversing the castle - through an eldritch portal or by the same method as him.

No sign on the corridor. No name on the map he had on one hand. He cursed under his breath, scanning the darkness for any foes ahead...

Sword drawn and levelled towards a girl grinning like the Chesire Cat (which had the same ability of appearing from nowhere). A lady in black, like a character from the outlandish stories he had heard from Selphie and Tidus and Wakka. Laughing her head off, no less, at him.

"How- no sneaking up on me!"

"Nearly gave you a heart-atttack, didn't I?"

He glared at Xion. Of all (un)people... well, it was better than the alternative. Better a laughing friend than a weapon in his back. Or a spell to his head.

"You don't get lost here?"

"I do. But I use portals when I do."

"... Where was I going?"

"Somewhere." A burst of laughter, and a playful shove.

"No joke?"

"Outside, if you have to know. The only place where 'somewhere' is valid."

"So here I'm in-"

"Nowhere. Lost in the middle of nowhere!"

_Ah well - I'll see how she fares lost in the middle of **somewhere** next._ But he doesn't let her away from his sight...


	9. Laughter

It had taken hours of ranting and arguing, polishing up on charm and effective arguments. It had narrowly avoided devolving into a battle (which he would have won in any case, mind you). And yet, all was futile.

If Xion was 'doomed' to yet another dress… well, he was going to have to don casual clothing too. Blindfold off to top it; there was no way they were going to pass it off as normal anyways. There may have been threats, blackmail and Xion swaying around in that outfit again.

Now, had the world been any other, he might as well have enjoyed it. But, of all worlds under the sky, Xion had to pick Castle of Dreams. The world of balls and impractical footwear…

Although he did look dashing in a tuxedo, suit or whatever it was called locally. If somewhat constricted, and unable to twist or bend his arms. And the necklace he wore was biting his skin under the fabric, and he couldn't walk right at all.

But to hear her laughing her head off at his semi-robotic movements and for once blending in with a crowd without having to constantly look over each other's shoulder… it was bliss.

Of course he got the last laugh, when Xion couldn't walk in her elaborate shoes. Or that she simply couldn't take a seat due to the cloud of a dress she wore. But it didn't matter, because the pair of them kept laughing on…

Now that drew attention. But of the type that just earned a happy sigh, winks and nudges. And yes, he got the point. To his amusement.


	10. Confused

Sora thought Riku looked confused almost all the time now. There'd be a haze on his eyes, and he'd wander off to inspect random things. Riku had developed a love for ice cream he didn't have before, and Sora would catch him gazing off into sunsets.

Maybe, it had something to do with the odd memories he had. Of a blond and a redhead and… someone. Watching sunsets and eating ice creams…

And there were gaps where he wasn't sure he had done things. He was sure he didn't know how to dance…

So now, when the trio of them was relaxing on the shores of their islands, Sora would mull Riku's situation over. How his sight roved over the waves, as if searching for something that wasn't quite there.

A blue-eye smile that doesn't belong to either of them dances across the waves, flickers in the setting sun. A small speck of a shadow on the sand reaching out to the shadow of his friend's hand. Riku smiles, which baffles Sora…

But he's happy for once. Unknown to them, a name flitters out, barely audible over the soft sound of the lapping waves.

"Xion…"

A.N. – way in future timeline? Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated!


	11. Never Was

A.N. – and so it ends. This was nice to write, and many (repeated) thanks to those who read and reviewed the fic.

Now, to a couple technicalities: nothing belongs to me (Wishing-Fire's challenge and Square's characters). I took the prompt as free-pick: ergo 'Never Was'. The actual prompt was 'Your choice'… so there for confusion. Once again, hope you enjoy!

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><p>To Riku, memories were not necessarily snapshots of long-lost events. At one time, memories had been a girl; who was now taking her bows with grace and pomp from his mind.<p>

He clung desperately to what fragments he could of her actions or her demeanor. A smile, a frown, the glimmer of a tear or the way light framed a sleek silhouette.

However, if there was something that she couldn't take with her… his fantasies were it. Dreams and fabricated 'memories' of events not to come, preserved in some gallery of his mind, to taunt and tempt him. But too precious to throw away.

Her arrival to the islands, still clad in her outlandish black cloak. Having to re-accustom her to the more revealing clothing or to the glare of the sun. Riku and her, walking to classes or sauntering along beachfronts with ice cream on their hands and salty air tousling their hair.

Telling her that legend about the star-shaped fruit, maybe sharing one. A true kiss, when both of them were aware of its meaning. Lingering entangled together on the beach, watching the sea swallow the last rays of the sun.

Watching her gliding down an aisle, glimmering in white. A lasting compromise, not to be taken by hungry darkness and looming threats…

They never happened, were never real. Similar to the girl that had been so prominent in them… but Riku had what he wanted, didn't he? The world back to its good, normal self. Both his friends back – a bit more joined at the hip, though. He would joke Sora around while the sweet taste of friendly bickering lasted.

But sometimes, a bitter echo of black hair would chase away the warmth of Kairi's face. Sora's smile would be a bit different, and he would be thrown off kilter by another face. The scent of the sea would drift over to the corners of his head and mist up on the recollections and illusions that he had…

Maybe those weren't real. Not yet, at any rate. But, between his friends and him… nothing was impossible.

He may yet see her again, like the tide coming back to lap at his shores. And he'd make those memories exist.


End file.
